Flue-cleaner.



No. 822,706. .PATENTED JUNB'5, 1906. W. P. WILSON. FLUB CLEANER.

APPLICATION TILED DEO.30,1905.

WILLIAM P. WILSON, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY.

FLUE-CLEANER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 5, 1906.

Application filed December 30, 1905. Serial No. 293,898.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM P. WILSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county of Mercer, in the State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Im rov'elnents in Flue-Cleaners, of which the ollowing is a specification.

My invention relates especially to that class of flue-cleaners which operate to clean the flues of boilers princi all or wholly by suction or exhaust; and t e 0 ject of my invention is to provide an effective flue-cleaner of simple construction which may be readily used in boiler fines or tubes of various lengths and diameters.

In flue-cleaners of the class to which my invention belongs the principal desiderata are, first, means for procuring an effective suction or exhaust which will clear the fines of deposits of soot, ashes, &c., lodged therein, and, second, means of disposing of such deposits without interfering with their ready exit and complete ejection from the flues. Heretofore it has been common to construct such flue-cleaners in the form of a curved-tubewhich when adjusted to the end of the flue to be cleaned formed substantially a curved prolonation of the flue, and means were provided or forcing through such curved tube outwardl a et or 'ets of steam, thus inducing an ex aust wit in-the flue; but such constructions are objectionable because the gases and products of combustion passing from the flue into such curved tube impact against the curved Wall of the tube and are thereby so retarded in their exit therefrom as to prevent a sufliciently strong rush of gases through the flue to effectively clear it of the deposits of solid matter lodged therein. To make an exhaust flue-cleaner absolutely effective in itswork, it is essential that a direct and not a tortuous passage be provided for the exit of the products of combustion from the flue; My invention provides such means in combination with means for disposing of the deposits after they are ejected from the fluein such manner as in no way to interfere with their exit from the flue.

In describing lily/invention I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which" Figure 1 is a perspective view of my flueclenner. Fig. 2 is'a view of my flue-cleaner partly in section and showing its position relative to a flue undergoing the process of cleaning, and Fig. 3 is a View of a modified form of my flue-cleaner.

My flue-cleaner consists of a metal conduit A, upon one end of which I preferably fix the hollow metal head B, and a deflector (3, Which may be permanently fixed to the conduit near its end opposite the head B or may be arranged to slidelongitudinallyupontheconduit and made fast thereon at any desired point by means of the set-screw a. The head A has parallel longitudinal wings 1) formed upon it, preferably four in number and arranged in diametrical 0 position to each other. At the base of t e head B is a coupling extension 0, formed integral with the head and internally threaded to take onto the end of the conduit A, which is also threaded at its end to receive such coupling extension. A lock-nut d may be also used to advantage in securing a firm connection between the head and conduit. In the base of said head are formed a number of small apertures c,which are arranged in a circle and open from the interior of the head outwardly. They mayor may not be countersunk. T hese apertures have their axes on lines forming oblique angles with the plane of a cross-section of the head B, and said axes diverge from each other outwardly. In the front end of the head there is formed a countersunk aperture 7", opening from the interior of the head out- Wardly and preferably having its axis coincident with the axis of the conduit and head. The deflector is made of metal and is in the form of a truncated cone with a l langed base g. This base 9 has a return-curve at its outer edge It. The deflector is supported upon the conduit A b 1 its wall at its smaller end and by a spider-frame i at its larger or rear end.

As stated before, the deflector may be permanently fixed upon the conduit near the rear end thereof, but referably is arranged to be adjustably attac led thereto by the setscrew (1. At the end is of the conduit may be attached a flexible or other conduit, which in turn may be connected directly or indirectly with the boiler or a receiver for compressed air or the like, and by means of acock in such conduit steam, com n'essed air, or the like may be admitted to the flue-cleaner and )assed into the flue to be cleaned. These last-mentioned connections and appliance are not shown in the drawings, as they are well known to those com-'ersnnt with the art.

\Nhile my invention is useful and operative IIO ' rushesback along the outside of the A and out of the fine.

with either steam or compressed air as a cleaning agent, I prefer the use of steam and in describing its operation shall refer only to the use of steam, it being understood that compressed air and the like operate in sub stantially the same way.

My invention, then, operates as followsi Steam is first turned on and finds its way through the conduit A into the head B, from which it finds its exit through the apertures e and f, and any condensation remaining in the conduit or head from previous operation is quickly expelled therefrom. This accomplished, the head B is entered to the flue to be cleaned,such flue being indicated by D in Fig. 2, and is projected therein for about a foot or eighteen inches. The steam issuing from the aperture f dislodges the accumulation of ashes and soot in the flue immediately in advance of the head B, while the steam issuing from the apertures e impinges against the inner side of the flue and, clearing therefrom the accumulations of ashes and soot, conduit As the steam passing back from the head B is traveling in the same direct ion with the current of gases passing through the flue, it accelerates their mo tion by creating a partial vacuum in the flue be \'ond or back of the head B and draws them swiftlythrough the channels formed by the wings I) and forces them out of the end of the flue, the force of the increased draft being sufficient to draw with the gases the deposits of solid matter accumulated throughout the entire length of the flue. The gases and solid matter ejected from the fine are forced against the conical face of the deflector C and deflected by it and its curved flange in a direction away from the flues of the boiler and their impetus so reduced as to enable the draft through the stack to seize them while in a state of suspension and carry them through the stack into the outer air, the deflector of course operating simultane ously to protect the person of the operator from said gases and solid matter.

Experience has demonstrated the fact that the accumulations of ashes and soot are formed principally in the front ends of the fines into which the flue-cleaner is projected and that the insertion of the head of the cleaner afoot or eighteen inches into the flues 1s amply. sufficient to thoroughly clear the fines of all such deposits througl'iout their entire length. i

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated a modification of my construction, wherein the head 13 is omitted. Therein the conduit A is similar to the conduit A shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and is provided with wings i) to center it in the flue to be cleaned. Aperturesc", having their axes similarly disposed to the axes of the apertures e illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, are formed in the conduit itself, while the forward end of the conduit is'closed save for the aperture f, centrally located therein. This construction is operative in the same way as the construction first described, which, however, is my preferred construction. Either of said constructimis is also operative without the aperturef or fin the forward end of the head B or conduit A but my practical experience with such constructions has shown that it is preferable to include in the structure such forward aperture.

It will be observed that. the deflector C is shown as standing'or located at some distance from the mouth or open end of the flue into which the head of the cleaner is inserted. This is absolutely essential to the effective operation of the fluecleaner, andthe rearwardly-inclined face of the deflector is also very advantageous, ifnot absolutely essential. Were the deflector placed near the open end of the flue being cleared of ashes and soot, it would operate much as the curved tubes adjusted to the end of the flue, as above described in the former art, and would be equivalent in use to a tortuous passage for the exit of the products of combustion from the flue and would so reduce the exhaust as to seriously interfere with the cleaning process:

W'hil'e the particular form of my deflector disclosed in this specification may be modified without changing its function or effect or withdrawing it from the scope of my invention, I have illustrated what I consider its best form for the purpose in view. Its form should in no event be so modified as to deflect the current of products of combustion back upon itself or in any way interfere with the,.free exit of the gases and solid matter from the flue being cleaned.

The flue-cleaner I have described is intended to be portable and to be used to clean the several fines of a boiler in the manner describedby passing the head or forward end of the cleaner into each flue and turning on the steam or other cleansing agent in the manner described; but in practice I have found it very advanta eous to place such a flue-cleaner permanently in connection with a boiler or one of a battery of boilers. By permanently placing such a flue cleaner as that above described with its head inserted in the central tube or flue of the boiler and keepim a low head of steam turned on through the flue-cleaner not only is the flue into which the cleaner is inserted kept thoroughly clear of ashes and soot, but all the other flues of the boiler are beneficially affcctcd, the increased draft caused by the 0X- haust set up in the central flue also operating to increase the draft of gases through the other fines of the boiler, thereby tending to keep them cleared of dcpositslof ashes'am'l soot, which otherwise would accumulate in them much more rapidly. uh a proper exhaust thus effected in the central flue. of a boiler or in one of a battery of boilers the ac cun'iulations of solid matter in all the fiues are greatly minimized and have to be removed much less frequently than would otherwise be the case. Furthermore, the exhaust being used to draw the products of combustion through the flues in the direction in which they naturally pass serves to hold the heat to the rear end of the boiler, thus preventing contraction of the fines at their points of union with the crown-sheet and obviating the leakage consequent on such contraction.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. In a flue-cleaner, a conduit for vapor, compressed air, or the like, having one or more apertures at or near one end thereof, said a ertures being so placed and formed as to def ect the course of the current of vapor, compressed air, or the like passing through said conduit back along said conduit and through a flue into which it is inserted, in combination with a deflector so formed and located as to receive said current and any solid matter carried with it and so deflect the same as not to retard the exit of said current from said flue.

2. In a flue-cleaner, a conduit for vapor, compressed air, or the like, having an end or head of greater diameter than said conduit, said head having one or more apertures at its rear end whereby the vapor, compressed air, or the like, passing through said conduit may be rojectcd rearwardl'y along said eonduit and within a flue within which said fluecleaner is inserted, in combination with a deflector so formed and located as to receive said vapor, compressed air, or the like, and any solid matter carried with it and so deflect the same as not to retard the exit there of from said flue.

3. In a flue-cleaner, the combination of a conduit having a head of greater diameter than the body of said conduit, said head having a ertures opening rearwardly, and a con.- ical eflector sustained on said conduit, sub stantially as described.

4. In a flue-cleaner, a conduit having a head of greater diameter than said conduit, said head having apertures opening rearwardly and an aperture opening forwardly, invcombination with a conical deflector having a flanged edge, substantially as described.

WILLIAM P. WILSON.

Witnesses I. M. ALTEMUs, MARGE T. SIMPSON, 

